Surveying digital Tools and Methods for the virtual EFL Classroom. A sample online English lesson and methodologies reflected (PDF)

Master's Thesis from the year 2021 in the subject Didactics - English - Applied Geography, grade: 2,0, University of Duisburg-Essen, language: English, abstract: The overall aim of this master thesis is to examine which opportunities and issues within the virtual EFL classroom could arise from distance learning in Germany. Therefore, the first chapter will examine the difference between homeschooling and distance learning, since their definitions are not the same. It is also relevant to look at different countries and their regulations and implementations for home-schooling or distance learning in order to retrace the arguments for and against a possible implementation of homeschooling in Germany.

The closure of German schools during the lockdown(s) forced teachers, students and parents to change over to distance learning. As this adjustment has presented a challenge for all persons involved, there is a need to identify appropriate tools and methods for the virtual EFL classroom. Hence, it is relevant to learn about the experiences of teachers who presented and students who attended online English lessons. This will be done in form of online questionnaires which aim to identify appropriate digital resources for the virtual EFL classroom as well as possibilities and problems that could arise from distance learn-ing in EFL.

The final step of this thesis is to develop a sample online English lesson in times of distance learning as an alternative possibility to a traditional English lesson in the class-room on the basis of the results from the questionnaires. Therefore, both perspectives -teachers and students- will be taken into consideration, since their experiences help to im-prove distance learning in English. The main goal of the development of this online lesson in English is to show that teachers are also able to fulfill the requirements of the curriculum in distance learning and bearing this in mind, a possible implementation of a hybrid learning system could be an alternative way of learning and teaching for the future.